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Gaining over $1 trillion this year, the richest got richer in 2019

WION Web Team
New Delhi, India Updated: Dec 28, 2019, 09:26 PM IST
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Photograph:(AFP)

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The wealthiest of the planet gained as much as $1.2 trillion in 2019. 

As the year comes to an end, here's some news that would bring more cheer to the richest across the globe and also raise an alarm about the burgeoning wealth gap and income inequality.

According to a Bloomberg report, the wealthiest of the planet gained as much as $1.2 trillion in 2019. 

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index -  which closely tracks the top 500 wealthiest people in the world - states that the wealthy of the world this year boosted their collective net worth by as much as 25 per cent to jump to $5.9 trillion.

Over 170 American billionaires found a spot on Bloomberg's ranking who, collectively, added $500 billion. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and  Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates were among the ones who added a fortune to their net worth this year. 

As per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sits at the top of the list of the world's wealthiest with a net worth of $116 billion. 

Bezos is followed by Bill Gates, Bernard Arnault, Warren Buffett and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg. 

Indian billionaire and chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd Mukesh Ambani stands at the 12th spot with $59.5 billion as net worth. 

This comes after a report suggested that billionaires' wealth fell by $388 billion globally to $8.539 trillion in the year 2018, news agency AFP quoted UBS/PwC Billionaires Report.

"Billionaire wealth dipped in 2018 for the first time since 2008 because of geopolitics," UBS's head of ultra-high net worth clients, Josef Stadler, adding that the billionaire's wealth was likely to go up this year. 

(With inputs from AFP)